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Praise names are repositories and means through which ideologies and socio-cultural identities are transmitted in Igbo culture. In ‘praise naming’, symbols with socio-cultural meanings are deployed to represent ideological realities of Igbo naming in communities. The symbols which are infused with the Igbo beliefs of philanthropy and display levels of stratification have not been subjected to adequate linguistic studies. This study, therefore, undertakes a critical appraisal of the strategic deployment of symbols in praise naming chiefs in selected folk songs of two popular and foremost Igbo folk musicians with a view to uncovering the underlying ideological meanings and significance of the symbols. Analysing the data through the lens of Martin and White’s appraisal theory reveals that symbols derived from five sources – plants, animals, nature, body parts and deities – construct the chiefs in terms of five images of God …